Bus Call via Smartphone App... Incheon City Expands Operation in Songdo and Namdong Industrial Complex

Demand-Responsive Bus 'I-MOD'... Average 400 Daily Users in Yeongjong International City

I-MOD (I-MODE) Bus
Photo by Incheon City

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] A service where passengers can call a bus using a smartphone app is being expanded in Incheon.

Incheon City announced that the real-time demand-responsive bus service, 'I-MOD (I-Mode) Bus,' has started operating not only in Yeongjong International City but also from the 19th in Songdo International City and Namdong National Industrial Complex.

The I-Mode bus is a smart mobility service that allows passengers to call a vehicle to their desired bus stop via a smartphone app and travel to the bus stop they want to go to regardless of the route.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) searches for the fastest route in real time and dispatches the bus accordingly. Unlike conventional buses that stop at every stop along a fixed route even if there are no passengers, I-MOD determines the stops based on the passenger's location and destination.

In Songdo International City, eight I-Mode buses operate only in Songdo 2, 4, and 5-dong, where transportation is relatively inconvenient, from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Among them, four buses will move to Namdong Industrial Complex after the morning rush hour when demand is low and operate from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The base fare is 1,800 KRW for up to 7 km based on the shortest distance, and an additional 100 KRW is charged for every 1 km thereafter. Youth and children fares are 1,200 KRW and 700 KRW, respectively.

Previously, in Incheon, the I-Mode bus service first started operating in Yeongjong International City in October last year, with an average of about 400 users per day.

Incheon City was selected for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 'Smart City Challenge Project' last year and is promoting the 'Incheon Social Participation I-Multimodal Project' in collaboration with the Hyundai Motor Consortium to implement and demonstrate smart mobility solutions by linking various transportation modes.

The project includes the I-Mode bus service, intelligent shared taxis (I-MOA), participatory electric scooters (I-ZET), local business connection (I-Order), and integrated public transportation guidance and payment multimodal system (I-Trip).

An official from Incheon City stated, "From August, we plan to operate I-Mode buses in Geomdan New Town as well," adding, "We will lead smart public transportation by promoting various smart mobility demonstrations such as intelligent shared taxis and participatory electric scooters."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.